Removal of contaminated soil and additional electrical equipment at the site has raised the construction tab to $17.49 million.

The cost of the Everett School District's new administration building has increased by more than a half-million dollars, with the tab for construction now expected to hit $17.49 million.The $535,392 in additional charges paid for two projects: digging out and taking away petroleum-contaminated soil found on the site as construction was under way and installing equipment to back up the school district's power network and protect it against power surges, said Hal Beumel, director of facilities and planning.The 66,365-square-foot building is scheduled to open in October. It is being built near the corner of Broadway and 41st Street SE in Everett.The final cost of the building, including taxes and purchase of furniture and equipment, is expected to be at least $23.8 million.The school district initially paid to have petroleum-contaminated soil removed from the site in the summer of 2009.There were two gas stations and a fuel distribution center on the land from early 1960s through 1984, according to Beumel. The school district bought the site in 1986.However, as construction on the new administration proceeded, four additional areas of soil contaminated with gasoline or oil were found. Removal of the contaminated soil took about two weeks. "We had to clean that up, excavate it and haul it to an approved disposal site," he saidIn order to avoid delay, the soil had to be removed quickly, Beumel said.The total cost to remove and dispose the contaminated soil was $242,539.The power unit, which provides an uninterrupted power supply during power outages, cost $292,853. The project is being completed by Everett-based Valley Electric.Administrative offices currently are split among several sites in the school district. The Longfellow building, a former elementary school built in 1911, was converted to an office building in 1970. A building at 4730 Colby Ave. is where Superintendent Gary Cohn and some other administrators have their offices and where school board meetings are held.BNCC Inc. of Steilacoom is the contractor in charge of constructing the new administration building.Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.

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